Saturday, December 18, 2010

On December 14th, Foreign Policy published an article Let There be Light by Charles Kenney which discussed the advances in the developed world in regards to the lightbulb and compared it to the lack of access to electricity grids and energy in the developing world.

There are many development initiatives throughout the developing world to improve access to clean water, healthy and nutrient rich foods, malarial drugs, mosquito nets, education for children and women, HIV-prevention and antiretroviral drugs. However, to my knowledge (I haven't done any googling on this subject), there has not been a larger movement to provide light in an efficient, environmentally friendly and accessible way.

A great public diplomacy initiative--that could be a public-private partnership between governments, NGOs and the corporate sector--could be "light accessibility". The above article mentioned that children in India did better in school when they had access to light because it provided more time to study. The public-private campaign could focus on education -- Light for Learning, and wherever educational training is offered by governments (or UN programs) to local teachers, NGOs could fund-raise with corporate sponsorship (CSR or globe engagement projects) to provide light to children outside of the classroom. These partner corporations, some of which must be in the electricity/LED/solar technology businesses could sponsor/fundraise with the NGOs in order to provide the newest light technology LED lightbulbs powered by batteries, recharged by the sun to each child (and in turn families). This would not only provide much needed access to more energy efficient, cost saving, environmentally friendly light products, but also facilitate the education of young children who with better education have future opportunities and more access to help their family and country.

Education is the key to a better future for all people, sustainable development is essential for a healthier planet, mix the two goals together, and voila, Light for Learning.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

People are always shocked or freaked out by coincidence. Some chalk it up to the random workings of the universe, some believe in fate, some don't take notice at all. Today, I am enjoying a quote from Albert Einstein on those random incidents that make the world and people just a little more interconnected.

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous

Enjoy the little surprises and coincidences, maybe they mean something after all.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

As a Washingtonian Jersey Girl transplanted to Los Angeles, I try to keep myself sane by using public transportation. Although public transportation in LA is harder to use, less efficient, unreliable and slower than every city I have ever had the pleasure of using public transportation in around the globe (est. 25), it generally feels the same as any where else. Tonight, I did not expect thee bus ride home from work to be any different than usual, but it indeed was.

This gray evening, the bus was crowded and I chose to stand reading the Economist near the back exit to allow those whose jobs are physically demanding space to sit. An older hispanic man came onto the bus and gestured for me to take an empty seat, his eyes told me that I should, so I graciously accepted. A stop later, he sat next to me and started speaking to me in Spanish, but with an accent that was difficult for me to understand. After a few attempts at communication, I finally understood what he was saying:

"The whole world rides on the bus, God is everywhere"

He pointed to the Economist and recommended that instead of reading the news, which discusses much of the worlds' hardships, I should read the Bible. He asked if I know the Bible, and I replied "mas o menos" (more or less). He suggested that I read it for 30 minutes before I go to sleep at night. I explained that I needed to read the news to know what is happening in the world. He just shook his head, smiled warmly and said, that "God is great" and that there is only one God. I agreed with him whole heartedly.

This surprising conversation got the public diplomacy ideas flowing. The whole world rides on the bus, I looked around me, people speaking multiple languages, different lives, religions, dreams, careers and stories. Everywhere around the world, people ride the bus. I would recommend two initiatives to encourage understanding between culture through bus rides. To call on bus commuters to make short videos about their bus rides. What is your bus story? What is your bus world like? Collect videos from everywhere in the world and create a video documentary of "The World on the Bus". This documentary could clearly illustrate through shared culture and values how everywhere in the world, people can relate to each other on buses. The documentary could be launched on a new international day which suggests that every commuter try to ride the bus to show how people around the world may be different in numerous ways, but can also be the same. The whole world on the bus.

I am not one to advocate for an imposed settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, nor am I a huge fan of the United Nations when it comes to Israel, however, I am interested in the idea put forth by Robert Wright, today, in a NYT Opinion piece.

Wright advocates that a plan can be imposed on both Israelis and Palestinians:

TheUnited Nationscreated a Jewish state six decades ago, and it can create a Palestinian state now. It can define the borders, set the timetable and lay down the rules for Palestinian elections (specifying, for example, that the winners must swear allegiance to a constitution that acknowledges Israel’s right to exist)....

By comparison, a United Nations solution looks Israel-friendly. Borders could be drawn to accommodate some of the thickest Israeli settlements along the 1967 lines (while giving the new Palestinian state land in exchange). But perhaps the biggest advantage is the political cover this approach would give President Obama.

Sure, he’d have to endure some noise from America’s Israel lobby. But at least he’d have to put on his noise-canceling headphones only twice: (1) when he agreed to explore this path with other members of the “quartet” — the European Union, Russia, the United Nations; (2) when the quartet, having produced a plan, handed it to the Security Council, at which point America would vote for it, or at least not veto it.

I would argue that this is an interesting path to advocate for BUT that the Israeli and Palestinian publics MUST buy-in to this plan. The governments must agree as well, as the consequences could also result in disaster.

Hope to continue to write more on this topic and think a bit more critically about this proposal.